Speaker Bio

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Judge Diane Kavadias Schneider

Judge Diane Kavadias Schneider was appointed to the Lake Superior Court on July 26, 2000 and became the first woman judge to serve in the Civil Division of the Court. She previously served as Magistrate in the County Division and Court Administrator and Referee in the Juvenile Division of the court.

Judge Schneider graduated from Valparaiso University School of Law and was admitted to the Indiana and Illinois bars in 1982. She graduated from the Indiana Judicial College in 1997 and the Indiana Judges Graduate Program in 2002. She is currently enrolled in the Indiana Master of Judicial Studies Program. She has completed mediation training in civil and family cases. Judge Schneider is a former educator who received her B.A. from Purdue University in 1971.

Professional memberships include the American Bar Association and its Judicial Administration Section, the Indiana State Bar Association, the Lake County Bar Association, the American Judicature Society, the National Association of Women Judges, the National Guardianship Association, and the Women Lawyers Association of Northwest Indiana.

Judge Schneider has served on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Judicial Conference and has served on its Magistrate and Jury Committees. She previously served on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Judges Association and is a former member of the Indiana Supreme Court Commission on Race and Gender Fairness.

Judge Schneider currently serves as co-chair of the Indiana Guardianship Task Force. The Indiana Commission for Women awarded Judge Schneider the 2005 Torchbearer Award for Advocacy in recognition of her work with the Volunteer Advocates for Seniors Program, the first such guardianship program in Indiana.

Her previous service includes on the boards of the National Association of Women Judges, the Lake County Bar Association, and the Valparaiso University School of Law Alumni Association. Judge Schneider has been an active member of the Indiana State Bar Association and has been a delegate to its House of Delegates for many years. She is a past member of the Board of Governors and is a Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation.

Judge Schneider has lectured at numerous bench and bar continuing legal education programs. Her service has extended to work with students as a coach and judge for the “We The People” competition. Judge Schneider hosted the first presentation of the NAWJ “Color of Justice” program in Indiana and accepted the 2004 ISBA Rabb Emison Award on behalf of that program.